I wish to object to Ref. No: 11/01537/FULL1 – Soft and Hard landscaping including benches and bicycle stands for the following reasons:

1.The applicant has failed to provide a full description of the proposed use of the building and its capacity. It is unclear from this application and those associated with it which include drawings showing an office, a waiting room, a Meeting Room and a book shop together with signage called The Open Door (which is the name of the applicant’s new charity) how the building is to be used lawfully within the D2 entertainment use class.

The applicant’s proposals look remarkably similar to the application for change of use to a Place of Worship which was refused by the council in 2009 and suggest that the applicant is intending to use the building as a mixed use building which it does not have permission for.

This application and those associated with it (for canopy and external alterations and a wall mounted advertisement) should not be determined until further details of the use of the building have been provided by the applicant to ensure that these developments relate to the lawful use of the building.

This application must not be considered in isolation of those associated with it. The joint impact of all three development proposals on the appearance and character of the Conservation Area and the adjoining Conservation Areas (The whole of the Crystal Palace Triangle is covered by Conservation Areas) and the amenity of neighbouring properties must fully considered in arriving at any recommendation.

2. The capacity of 25 Church Road is currently for 1150 people seated. If the proposed landscaped area is aimed at providing an amenity space for patrons of large events, and the applicant’s consultant’s previously suggested that the venue could hold up to 2,000 -3,000 people, then it has enormous potential to cause noise and nuisance for the residents of the surrounding homes and would be out of keeping with the requirements of the Conservation Area.

3. The area subject of the application is immediately adjacent to the entrance of 25 Church and located next to a busy bus stop operated by Transport for London. There are no barriers between the site and the pavement. A large crowd gathered there could spill onto the public section of the pavement. A combination of event attendees and people waiting at the bus stop next to the proposed seating area has a potential to cause a bottleneck of people on a busy stretch of pavement. As the pavement flanks an arterial road on a busy one way system this potential pedestrian obstruction raises serious road safety issues.

4. The applicant has failed to provide a maintenance and management plan nor sufficient details within the design and access statement as to how it will meet the requirements of Secured by Design in terms of the lighting and arrangement of features. The applicant has also failed to provide a sufficient number of bicycle stands.

To conclude:

Whilst environmental improvements are to be welcomed along Church Road and are not objected to in principle, I have concerns about the impact on the amenity of residential occupiers of neighbouring buildings and also on the safety of the public along the footpath, arising from an intensification of the use of the building for large events.